Burrata Caprese

This Burrata Caprese salad is a fresh and decadent dish!

Juicy tomatoes are piled with creamy burrata cheese, then topped with olive oil, flaky salt and balsamic glaze.

It’s easy to make (no cooking!), takes just minutes to assemble and will impress everyone.

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Why this recipe works

A caprese salad is a traditional Italian dish layering fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves. Not only is it delicious and easy to make, but the colors – red, white and green – are the colors of the Italian flag.

A caprese with burrata is a common riff on the classic combination. It keeps the tomatoes and basil but swaps out regular mozzarella for burrata cheese. Burrata is actually a ball of mozzarella stuffed with mozzarella curds and fresh cream. When you pull the burrata balls apart, that creamy filling oozes out.

And while the texture is soft and creamy, the flavor is quite mild.

Of course, the best way to make a caprese is to use the freshest tomatoes possible, so it’s recommended to wait until tomatoes are in season. In the U.S., that’s typically August through September.

I use heirloom tomatoes here – they’re bumpy and ugly but the sweet flavor can’t be beat.

But you could use Roma, cherry, grape, green zebra or anything else you like.

After layering the tomatoes and cheese, everything is topped with flaky sea salt, a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and fresh basil leaves.

And while this salad is great eaten by itself, see the FAQ below for serving ideas.

 

What you need

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes – I like to use a variety of colors, if possible, such as red, green and yellow
• 8 oz. burrata cheese – depending on how it’s sold, this might be one, two or even four balls packed in a tub with water
• fresh basil – do not substitute dried
• flaky sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil
• balsamic glaze – a thick, syrupy version of balsamic vinegar

Equipment:

• a cutting board
• a chef’s knife
• a serving platter
• a serving spoon

How to make Burrata Caprese

Slice the tomatoes into about 1/4″ thick slices. You might have to cut out any dried bits of the brown core.

If the tomato is very wide, you can also then cut each slice in half.

Arrange the slices on a serving platter, overlapping the slices and mixing the colors.

Gently pull open the burrata and dollop the creamy filling over the tomatoes. Rip apart the outer mozzarella layer and strew the pieces over the salad as well.

Sprinkle everything with flaky sea salt, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. If you don’t feel comfortable drizzling the oil directly from the bottle, pour some onto a spoon and use the spoon to drizzle the oil.

Drizzle everything with the balsamic glaze.

If the basil leaves are large, roughly chop or rip them. Then distribute evenly over the salad and dig in!

 

FAQ

What do I serve Burrata Caprese with?

Since it is best eaten in the summer, a caprese burrata salad is great with any grilled food, such as grilled steak, chicken or pork chops.

It would also be good with burgers, like these Italian-style turkey burgers.

For a vegetarian meal, I would serve this with these gluten-free zucchini fritters.

You could also assemble the salad on top of a baked pizza crust for an easy summer pizza!

 

Can I make substitutions?

1. As I said above, you can use any tomatoes you like. If you can’t find tomatoes, peaches are also a traditional pairing with burrata. Or you could use a mix of tomatoes and peaches.
2. You could use regular fresh mozzarella instead of burrata.
3. To make it dairy-free/vegan, replace the cheese with sliced or cubed avocado.
4. No fresh basil? Then use basil olive oil instead of regular olive oil.
5. No balsamic glaze? You can either skip it entirely or make your own, like this honey balsamic glaze. I wouldn’t use regular balsamic vinegar – it would be too strong and too runny.

Can I make this Burrata Caprese ahead of time?

Unfortunately, no. This is best eaten immediately. Even if you slice the tomatoes ahead of time, a lot of their juice (and their flavor) will leak out. Luckily this dish doesn’t take very long to make.

 

Can I freeze Burrata Caprese?

Nope. Neither the tomatoes nor the cheese freeze well.

 

Other recipes you might like:

1. Arugula Burrata Salad with Peaches and Prosciutto
2. Red, White and Blue Salad (Strawberry, Blueberry and Burrata Salad)
3. Tomato Salad with Deconstructed Pesto

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